Stars who laugh all the way to the bank

THE business acumen of the television stars Noel Edmonds, Rowan Atkinson and Chris Evans has made them some of the richest people in broadcasting, an industry survey showed yesterday.

As with the comics Jasper Carrott, Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones and the presenter Sir David Frost - who also feature prominently in the television and radio "rich list" - on-screen fame often counts for less than off-screen canniness when it comes to becoming a broadcasting multi-millionaire.

The extraordinary wealth of some of television's most familiar faces is disclosed in a list of the industry's 100 richest people compiled by the trade journal Broadcast. Despite being dropped as a pivotal BBC television star, Edmonds is estimated to be worth £70 million - at eighth, the highest ranking celebrity in the list.

Edmonds, a former Radio 1 DJ, owns a dozen companies in the Unique Group with interests ranging from aviation to video-conferencing, as well as an 840-acre estate in Devon. He is getting richer and richer - last year the magazine put his wealth at just £40 million.

Atkinson, the star of Blackadder and Mr Bean, is just behind on £60 million, up 50 per cent on last year. As well as the earnings from his company, Hindmeck, he made millions from his share in the takings of the internationally successful film version of Mr Bean.

He also has a £14 million stake in the production company that makes his programmes. Sir Bob Geldof's involvement in Castaway Productions, makers of Survivor, together with his radio production firm Ten Alps, make him worth an estimated £30 million.

Also benefiting from a one third stake in Castaway is the Labour peer Lord Alli, whose fortune has gone up from £6 million to £25.5 million in a year. Comedians Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones are said to be worth £25 million each.

The co-owners of the production company Talkback, maker of Da Ali G Show and They Think It's All Over, they sold the company last year, earning them £23 million each. Smith is also a successful film producer.

Carrott is worth an estimated £48 million, most coming from the 15 per cent stake that he and his wife, Hazel, hold in Complete Communications, the parent company of Celador, maker of ITV's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? City analysts believe Celador is now worth about £300 million.

Some stars' wealth slipped in the past year, according to the study. Sir David Frost is worth £25 million, but Broadcast notes that the main holding company for his television production interests saw a huge fall in profits.

The fortune of Evans, who is not working after being sacked by Virgin Radio, has slumped even more. According to Broadcast, the former DJ and television presenter has lost £28 million in a year, dropping to £52 million.

The list is headed by Sir Peter Michael, whose GWR Group includes Classic FM. His wealth is estimated at £185 million. Although the list is dominated by middle-aged men - there are only 14 women - an "astonishing" 80 per cent of them made their money from producing television or radio shows, the survey noted.

The list is also remarkable for the impact that the success of a single programme can make. Anne Wood, owner of the production company Ragdoll, comes in third at £130 million, almost entirely because of the global success of Teletubbies.

The same is true of two other independent television producers, Mike Luckwell and Peter Orton - worth £120 million and £55 million respectively - whose fortunes rocketed on the back of of another children's character, Bob the Builder.

By contrast, the wealth of Kelvin MacKenzie, the former Sun editor, went down from £13 million to £6 million because of a slump in the share price of The Wireless Group.

The overall value of the top 100 has gone down in the past year by £200 million. The survey's authors attributed much of this to the advertising slump.